Does human-dog attachment increase the resilience and resistance to COVID-19? A biopsychosocial approach and future research

• Vanner Boere ^[1] ; ItaOliveira Silva ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia

     Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia

     Brasil

     
• Localización: Ciencias Psicológicas, ISSN 1688-4094, ISSN-e 1688-4221, Año 15, Nº. 2, 2021, págs. 370-379
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.22235/cp.v15i2.2440
• Títulos paralelos:
  • O apego humano-cão aumenta a resiliência e a resistência ao COVID-19? Uma abordagem biopsicossocial e pesquisas futuras
  • ¿El apego humano-perro aumenta la resiliencia y la resistencia a la COVID-19? Un enfoque biopsicosocial y una investigación a futuro
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen
  • español

    Este artículo es una propuesta biopsicosocial sobre la mejora de la resiliencia a enfermedades, incluida laCOVID-19, debido al apego afectivo entre humanos y perros. La resiliencia se refiere a la capacidad humana física y emocional de responder positivamente a los eventos adversos,como las enfermedades. Recientemente, algunos autores han propuesto hipótesis independientes sobre el papel de la oxitocina (OT) y la inmunidad cruzada para aumentar la resiliencia y la respuesta frente alaCOVID-19. Aquí se extiende esa hipótesis alcampo biopsicosocial, incluyendo los bien conocidos beneficios del apego afectivo humano-perro sobre la salud humana. Se proponeque las relaciones de afecto fuerte y recíproco entre humanos y perros pueden aumentar la resiliencia a laCOVID-19, debido al papel delaOT en la respuesta inmune, sumando inmunidad cruzada. Otros beneficioscomo amortiguar el efecto de las emociones, la comodidad mental y el alivio del estrés son funciones complementarias de los perros en la salud humana y viceversa.

  • português

    Este artigo é uma proposta biopsicossocial sobre a melhora da resiliência a doenças, incluindo a COVID-19, devido ao apego afetivo entre humanos e cães. A resiliência diz respeito à capacidade física e emocional do ser humano de responder positivamente aos eventos adversos, como as doenças. Recentemente, alguns autores propuseram hipóteses independentes sobre o papel da oxitocina (OT) e da imunidade cruzada para aumentar a resiliência e a resposta contra o COVID-19. Estende-sea hipótese a um campo biopsicossocial, incluindo os benefícios bem conhecidos do apego afetivo humano-cão à saúde humana. É proposto que as relações de afeto recíproco e forte entre humanos e cães podemaumentar a resiliência ao COVID-19, devido ao papel do OT na resposta imune, somando-se à imunidade cruzada. Outros benefícios, como proteção emocional, conforto mental e alívio do estresse são funções auxiliares dos cães na saúde humana e vice-versa.

  • English

    This article is a biopsychosocial proposal about improvement of resilience to diseases, including the COVID-19, due to affective attachment between humans and dogs. Resilience concerns the physical and emotional human capacity to respond positively to the adverse events such as diseases. Recently, some authors have proposed independent hypotheses about role of oxytocin (OT) and crossed immunity to increase the psychological resilience and immune response against the COVID-19. This text extendsthe hypothesis to a biopsychosocial field, including the well-known benefits of the human-dog affective attachment on human health. Andproposesthat a strong and reciprocal affection between human and dog can increase the resilience and resistance to COVID-19, due the role of OT in the immune response, adding to crossed immunity. Other benefits such as emotional buffering, mental comfortand stress alleviation are adjunctive roles of dogs on human health and vice-versa.

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Beck, A. M. & Meyers, N. M. (1996). Health enhancement and companion animal ownership. Annual Review Public Health, 17(1), 247-257. doi:...
  • Bowlby, J. (1979). The Bowlby-Ainsworth attachment theory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2(4), 637-638. doi:10.1017/S0140525X00064955
  • Cacioppo, S., Bianchi-Demicheli, F., Hatfield, E., & Rapson, R. L. (2012). Social neuroscience of love. Journal of Clinical Neuropsychiatry,...
  • Cai, Q., Feng, L., & Yap, K. Z. (2018). Systematic review and meta-analysis of reported adverse events of long-term intranasal oxytocin...
  • Cal, S. F., Sá, L. R., Glustak, M. E., & Santiago, M. B. (2015). Resilience in chronic diseases: a systematic review. Cogent Psychology,...
  • Carter, C. S. (1998). Neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 23(8), 779-818. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4530(98)00055-9
  • Crawford, E. K., Worsham, N. L. & Swinehart, E. R. (2006). Benefits derived from companion animals, and the use of the term “attachment”....
  • Decaro, N. & Buonavoglia, C. (2008). An update on canine coronaviruses: viral evolution and pathobiology. Veterinary Microbiology, 132(3–4),...
  • Feldman, R. (2017). The neurobiology of human attachments. Trends Cognitive Sciences, 21(2), 80-99. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2016.11.007
  • Handlin, L., Hydbring-Sandberg, E., Nilsson, A., Ejdebäck, M., Jansson, A. & Uvnäs-Moberg, K. (2011). Short-term interaction between dogs...
  • Jurgiel, J., Filipiakc, K. J., Szarpakd, L., Jaguszewski, M., Smerka, J., & Dzieciątkowskig, T. (2020). Do pets protect their owners in...
  • Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., McGuire, L., Robles, T., & Glaser, R. (2002). Psychoneuroimmunology and psychosomatic medicine: back to the future....
  • Kiros, M., Andualem, H., Kiros, T., Hailemichael, W., Getu, S., Geteneh, A., Alemu, D., & Abegaz, W. E. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic: current...
  • Kis, A., Ciobica, A., & Topál, J. (2017). The effect of oxytocin on human-directed social behaviour in dogs (Canis familiaris). Hormones...
  • Kurdek, L. A. (2008). Pet dogs as attachment figures. Journal Society Personal Relationships, 25, 247-266. doi: 10.1037/a0014979
  • Liu, Y. & Wang, Z. X. (2003). Nucleus accumbens OT and dopamine interact to regulate pair-bond formation in female prairie voles. Neuroscience,...
  • Loos, C., Atyeo, C., Fischinger, S., Burke, J., Slein, M. D., Streeck, H., Lauffenburger, D., Ryan, E., Charles, R. C., & Alter, G. (2020)....
  • Loth, M. K. & Donaldson, Z. R. (2021). Oxytocin, dopamine, and opioid interactions underlying pair bonding: highlighting a potential role...
  • MacDonalds, K. S. (2013). Sex, receptors, and attachment: a review of individual factors influencing response to oxytocin. Frontier Neuroscience,...
  • Mueller, M. K., Gee, N. R., & Bures, R. M. (2018). Human-animal interaction as a social determinant of health: descriptive findings from...
  • Nagasawa, M., Kikusui, T., Onakab, T., & Ohtaa, M. (2009). Dog's gaze at its owner increases owner's urinary oxytocin during social...
  • Nagasawa, M., Mitsui, S., En, S., Ohtani, N., Ohta, M., Sakuma, Y., Onaka, T., Mogi, K., & Kikusui, T. (2015). Oxytocin-gaze positive...
  • Payne, E., Bennett, P. C., & McGreevy, P. D. (2015). Current perspectives on attachment and bonding in the dog–human dyad. Psychology...
  • Putnam, P. T., Young, L. J., & Gothard, K. M. (2018). Bridging the gap between rodents and humans: The role of non-human primates in oxytocin...
  • Ratschen, E., Shoesmith, E., Shahab, L., Silva, K., Kale, D., Toner, P., Reeve, C., & Mills, D. S. (2020). Human-animal relationships...
  • Romero, T., Nagasawa, M., Mogi, K., Hasegawa, T., & Kikusui, T. (2014). Oxytocin promotes social bonding in dogs. Proceedings of National...
  • Salas García, M. C., Schorr, A. R., Arnold, W., Fei, N., & Gilbert, J. A. (2020). Pets as a novel microbiome-based therapy. In: M. Pastorinho...
  • Schneider, D. & Ayres, J. (2008). Two ways to survive infection: what resistance and tolerance can teach us about treating infectious...
  • Serpell, J. A. (2016). From paragon to pariah: cross-cultural perspectives on attitudes to dogs. In: J. A. Serpell (Ed.), The Domestic Dog,...
  • Soumier, A. & Sirigu, A. (2020). Oxytocin as a potential defense against COVID-19? Medical Hypothesis, 140. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109785
  • Sussman, R. W. & Champan, A. (Eds.). (2004). The Origins and Nature of Sociality. Routledge.
  • Thielke, L. E., Rosenlicht, G., Saturn, S. R., & Udell, M. A. R. (2017). Nasally administered oxytocin has limited effects on owner-directed...
  • Wells, D. L. (2007). Domestic dogs and human health: An overview. British Journal Health Psychology, 12, 145-156. doi: 10.1348/135910706X103284
  • Welsh, R. M., Che, J. W., Brehm, M. A., & Selin, L. K. (2010). Heterologous immunity between viruses. Immunological Reviews, 235, 244-266....